Ectopic fat and abdominal adiposity phenotypes have never been studied holistically in individuals after acute pancreatitis (AP). The aim of the study was to investigate phenotypical differences in ectopic fat and abdominal fat between individuals after AP (with and without diabetes) and to determine the role of pancreatitis-related factors. Eighty-four individuals were studied cross-sectionally after a median of 21.5 mo since last episode of AP and were categorized into “diabetes” and “no diabetes” groups. Twenty-eight healthy volunteers were also recruited. With the use of magnetic resonance imaging, intrapancreatic fat percentage, liver fat percentage, visceral fat volume (VFV), subcutaneous fat volume, and visceral-to-subcutaneous (V/S) fat volume ratio were quantified. Analysis of variance was used to investigate the differences in these phenotypes between the groups. All analyses were adjusted for age and sex. Linear regression analysis was used to investigate the association between pancreatitis-related factors and the studied phenotypes. Intrapancreatic fat percentage was significantly higher in the diabetes group (10.2 ± 1.2%) compared with the no diabetes (9.2 ± 1.7%) and healthy volunteers (7.9 ± 1.9%) groups ( P < 0.001). VFV was significantly higher in the diabetes (2,715.3 ±1,077.6 cm3) compared with no diabetes (1,983.2 ± 1,092.4 cm3) and healthy volunteer (1,126.2 ± 740.4 cm3) groups ( P < 0.001). V/S fat volume ratio was significantly higher in the diabetes (0.97 ± 0.27) compared with no diabetes (0.68 ± 0.42) and healthy volunteer (0.52 ± 0.34) groups ( P = 0.001). Biliary AP was associated with significantly higher intrapancreatic fat percentage (β = 0.67; 95% CI, 0.01, 1.33; P = 0.047). C-reactive protein levels during hospitalization for AP were associated with significantly higher VFV (β = 3.32; 95% CI, 1.68, 4.96; P < 0.001). In conclusion, individuals with diabetes after AP have higher intrapancreatic fat percentage, VFV, and V/S fat volume ratio. Levels of C-reactive protein during AP are significantly associated with VFV, whereas biliary AP is significantly associated with intrapancreatic fat percentage. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Individuals with diabetes after acute pancreatitis have significantly higher intrapancreatic fat percentage and visceral fat volume compared with individuals without diabetes after acute pancreatitis and healthy controls. C-reactive protein levels during hospitalization for acute pancreatitis and biliary etiology of acute pancreatitis are associated with significantly larger visceral fat and pancreatic fat depots, respectively.

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Background Conventional anthropometric indices (body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC)) have limitations, in part, due to ethnic differences in fat distribution. Assessment of abdominal body composition using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly used to gain deeper insights into the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome, but the knowledge of abdominal volumes in indigenous populations is scarce. This study aimed to assess abdominal fat distribution and total abdominal volume using MRI in a multi-ethnic cohort that includes Maori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) and Pacific Islanders (PI). Methods MRI was used to quantify subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) volume, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume and total abdominal (TAb) volume by two independent raters in a blinded fashion. WC and BMI were also measured. Multinomial regression was used to compare the volumes between ethnic groups. Linear regression was used to investigate the ethnicity-specific associations between anthropometric indices and abdominal volumes. Three statistical models were built to adjust for age, sex, prediabetes/diabetes status and other covariates. Results A total of 87 individuals (37 Caucasians, 24 Maori/PI and 26 others) were studied. Maori/PI had a significantly higher VAT volume compared with Caucasians across all statistical models, with the highest odds ratio of 2.1 (95% confidence interval: 1.1 - 4.2; P = 0.026). SAT and TAb volumes did not differ significantly between the groups. WC explained up to 72.9% of variance in VAT volume among Maori/PI and up to 50.7% among Caucasians. BMI explained up to 67.6% of variance in VAT volume among Maori/PI and up to 52.1% among Caucasians. Conclusions Greater visceral fat deposition among Maori/PI might go some way towards explaining the increased rates of metabolic disorders observed in this ethnic group. Conventional anthropometric indices do not correspond to the same abdominal volumes across different ethnic groups.

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